In our search for "the correct way" to play a piece, I think that we are all overlooking the point that composers tend to make minor (occasionally major) alterations in a lot of their pieces (embellishments, dynamics and even notes and whole phrases) each time they perform, depending on their mood, the location, the time of day, the type of audience, the level of skill and musicianship of the performers (if it is an ensemble piece), etc. This is certainly true of many of the contemporary composers we know, and looking at the various "revisions" of the "older masters" was obviously also the case with them.
This is referring not to the "correct" way to play the Northumbrian Small Pipes, which has been one of the subjects under discussion, but to the "interpretation" - for want of a better word - of written music. As a composer myself, I know only too well that it is impossible to indicate one's intentions on paper and have been amazed - occasionally horrified, sometimes delighted - at performances of same piece. Sheila -----Original Message----- From: Christopher.Birch <[email protected]> To: cwhill <[email protected]>; nsp <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2011 4:35 am Subject: [NSP] Re: Deaf/dead >If Beethoven were alive today and could hear (:)), would he have recognised his compositions as played I'm very sure he would have recognised the pieces but he might have thought eople had a very funny way of playing them. Though I did once hear a recording of piece by Palestrina that I had actually ung myself and failed to recognise it. his was the choir of the Sistine Chapel around 1935 with masses of vibrato, oor tuning in general and rubato all over the shop. I also once heard a local choir singing three pieces - one by Haydn, one by ruckner and one by Britten, and I couldn't tell which was which. And I once failed to recognise that a rock band had played Little Wing in one of heir sets. But I don't think it's this kind of gross inaccuracy that we're talking about. B To get on or off this list see list information at ttp://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --
